Look Who it Was Random video

SWFL Preemies Beating the Odds

380 views · Published 1 November 2015 · 2:09 · Indexed 28 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2015 · Science & Technology

Watch on YouTube

From the minute she was born, little Fate was a miracle of life. She arrived at just under 26 weeks, weighing one pound, 11 ounces.

“There were some conditions with her heart that were unstable. She had a bilateral, grade four brain bleed. Her lungs weren’t developed so she was on a ventilator for six weeks,” says Fate’s mother, Elaine Capps. 

Survival was a challenge. Her family hoped for more.

“I just wanted her life to be happy, healthy and special,” says Capps. 

At Golisano Children’s Hospital they track the progress of super-preemies, babies born months premature with very low birth weights.

“Our NICU has been involved in the Vermont Oxford Study for many, many years. About ten years ago when we got established here in our developmental clinic we became part of that as well,” says Sherri Campbell, who is a nurse practitioner with Lee Memorial Health System. 

A worldwide study including 40 NICUs, each preemie is assigned a number and followed from birth to 24 months. 

“They track how many days they stayed in the hospital, if they had any bleeding in the brain, how sick they were and what kind of procedures were done to them,” says Campbell. 

Major disabilities common to preemies are cognitive delays, cerebral palsy, blindness and hearing loss. With a decade of data, premature babies from Golisano Children’s Hospital reported 15% disability compared to the study average of 21%; a credit to their care at birth and beyond.

“We have less cerebral palsy, we have less blindness, we have less intellectual delay and our kids are overall doing better. So that’s just a real comfort to me,” says Campbell. 

Fate is living proof.

“I think when she was about three, three and a half you wouldn’t have been able to tell that she was a preemie,” says Capps. 

It took years of specialized therapy devoted mostly to motor skills. Today Fate is 11 years old, happy and healthy, having clearly outgrown her early start.

“I think ‘wow’ I’m not that small anymore and it’s just amazing how far I’ve come,” says Fate. 

With help she is reaching her potential, as she was fated to do. 


View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org

More from this channel